Christie Nominates 2 For New Jersey’s Highest Court

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) — Governor Chris Christie today nominated two men as New Jersey Supreme Court justices, and he has his fingers crossed for quick confirmations.

Christie nominated NJ Superior Court judge David Bauman (left) and Robert Hanna (right), currently head of the state’s Board of Public Utilities.

Flanked by the nominees at a news conference, Christie told reporters that he has kept state senate president Steven Sweeney up to speed on the process, and hopes his picks meet Senate Democrats’ criteria.

“Their two main concerns expressed over time have been both partisan balance and diversity,” Christie said today. “These two nominees respect both of those concerns. Their third concern was qualifications. No one could possibly doubt the qualifications of these two men. In fact, the state senate themselves have unanimously confirmed both of them (for their current jobs).”

Bauman’s mother was Japanese and, if confirmed, he would become the first Asian-American on the state’s highest court.